The present invention relates to the connection of a computer to a computer network via a telephone exchange and more particularly to the monitoring of a connection between a computer and a computer network set up via a private branch exchange.
Computer networks in the form of internet and intranets are in widespread use and the number of people connecting themselves to computer networks such as the internet is growing increasingly.
There exist however a problem in that people who sit at home and work with computers might want to connect themselves to an intranet or computer network of the company they are employed at via their own telephone connection, and it would be efficient to connect themselves by calling a number of the company exchange and thereby connect themselves to the intranet in order to get hold of for example documents they are working on without having to go to the office or without using an ISP (internet service provider), through which they might not even be able to get connected to the computer network if it is a private network.
When a user has connected himself to a computer network via an ISP and he gets a bad connection, for example by being connected to the computer network via a faulty modem, there is a risk of the faulty modem being used for a long time, because it might not get noticed that it is faulty until the user calls the ISP.
The faulty modem might then not be replaced until the ISP sends a repairman to repair or replace the faulty modem.
W096/20553 is mainly concerned with a system of transmitting voice mail and electronic mail messages in a computer network. It does however not show any exchange having the internet access point directly without an internet service provider or the direct access from an exchange to a private network.
The telecommunications standard ITU-T H.323 describes different protocols for use in communication between computer and telecommunication networks.
Swedish patent application no SE 9602212-4, filed Jun. 4, 1996, discloses an exchange in a telecommunication network to which a computer is connected via a modem. Calls made to the telephone number associated with the modem are re-routed to a telephone server, for compression, packing into packets and contacting of the computer via internet. The connection between the exchange is a telephone connection. In this case telephone signals are packed into data packets that are then sent on a normal telephone line.
Swedish patent application SE 9604409-4filed Nov. 29, 1996 discloses a modem which multiplexes telephone signals and data packets on a telephone line so that a user having his computer connected to the PSTN can talk on the telephone while at the same time using the computer via this sole telephone connection.
The Swedish Patent application no SE 9602918-6, filed Aug. 2, 1996, which is identical to US provisional application xe2x80x9cMethod and Arrangement for Connection Between a Computer Network and a Telecommunication Networkxe2x80x9d, filed Aug. 12, 1996, describes how a user of a computer can connect himself to a computer network via a private branch exchange and a modem. The modem is connected to the switch core of the private branch exchange. The modem comprises some of the functions of the network connection device in this invention. It is however silent about how a faulty modem is to be taken care of.
The present invention concerns the area of how to allow persons working with computers at home to connect themselves to a computer network without calling a internet service provider and to see to it that such connections are reliable by instead connecting them to the computer network via the company private branch exchange.
When persons working at home are to connect themselves to a computer network of their company via the private branch exchange, there might be problems in that the connections set up might get bad because the device through which they are connected is functioning badly and the exchange is unaware of that fact.
Another problem is that the user might want, once he has properly connected himself to the computer network, try to obtain information to which he is not entitled by the company.
These problems are solved by receiving data signals from the computer, converting the signal structure of the data signals to data packets having a signal structure suitable for data communication and supplying these data packets to the computer network, while at the same time monitoring every connection set up between computers and the computer network.
The object of the invention is thus to provide a telephone, exchange, a telephone system and a method of connecting a computer to a computer network, where persons working with computers at home are allowed to connect themselves to a computer network without calling a internet service provider and to see to it that such connections are reliable and not abused.
This object is achieved by a telephone exchange and a telephone system comprising such an exchange, where the exchange comprises a switch core, a switch control means responsible for setting up connections between users of the exchange and at least one network connection device connected between the switch core and the computer network. The network connection device comprises a signal processing means that converts the signal structure of data signals, received from computers via the telecommunication network and the switch core, to data packets having a signal structure suitable for data communication and supplies these data packets to the computer network. The switch control means comprises means for monitoring every connection set up between computers and the computer network.
This object is also achieved by a method comprising the steps of receiving data signals from the computer, converting the signal structure of the data signals to data packets having a signal structure suitable for data communication and supplying these data packets to the computer network, while at the same time monitoring every connection set up between computers and the computer network.
This object is also achieved by an exchange and a telephone system comprising such an exchange, where the exchange comprises a switch core, a switch control means responsible for setting up connections between users of the exchange and at least one network connection device that is connected between the switch core and the computer network. The network connection device comprises a signal processing means that receives data packets having a signal structure suitable for data communication from the computer network, converts the signal structure of these data packets to a signal structure suitable for communication of data over a telecommunication network and supplies the converted signals to computers via the switch core and the telecommunication network. The exchange comprises means for monitoring every connection set up between such a computer and the computer network.
This object is also achieved by a method comprising the steps of receiving, in the exchange, data packets having a signal structure suitable for data communication from a computer network, converting the signal structure of these data packets to a signal structure suitable for communication of data over a telecommunication network, supplying the converted signals to a computer via a telecommunication network, while at the same time monitoring every connection set up between such a computer and the computer network.
The invention has several advantages. It provides for gathering of data concerning faults in a simple way, through provision of automatic monitoring of connections set up between computers connected to the computer network via the exchange and generation of alarms in case of faults. In this way faulty network connection devices can be monitored, and restarted or replaced by automatic disconnection via the normal monitoring functions of the exchange.
Further advantages are that the computer can be denied access to information it is not allowed to get or to connect itself to certain network address on the computer network it is not allowed to connect itself to via the company.
The monitoring can also be used for traffic measurements such as how many bytes are sent in total via a network connection device and divided onto IP addresses and the time connections are set up as well as to which servers connections have been set up.